2.2.1 Data Description
The Report Definition Language (RDL) [MS-RDL] document contains the definition of a report with information about how to connect to data sources, which fields are used from the datasets retrieved from the data sources, how the data is aggregated, and the structure and layout of the report.
This RDL data is used to process data and to render a report. The data is stored in both the report server database and the SharePoint repository when running Reporting Services in SharePoint integrated mode.
This data is created by using a Reporting Services RDL authoring tool (Report Builder or Report Designer in the Business Intelligence Development Studio), by using a third-party RDL authoring tool, or by using a text editor.
In addition to an RDL document, there is an RDLX file. An RDLX file is a package that is compatible with a compressed (.zip) file. The contents of an RDLX file can be viewed by renaming it to a .zip file and then opening it with any file compression program that creates .zip files. The RDLX file contains an RDL [MS-RDL] document, an optional Report State [MS-RDLRS] document, and an optional Extended Properties document. (Documentation on the Extended Properties document is provided throughout this overview document.) An RDLX file might also contain optional embedded image files that can be used in the report and in other files that are for cache purposes only.
The structure within the RDLX file follows the rules that are outlined in the Open Packaging Conventions (OPC) [ECMA-376-2/2]. Therefore, a user can extract the content of an RDLX file by implementing the OPC conventions, either manually or through a code library such as the System.IO.Packaging library that is included in the .NET Framework [MSDN-RMADS].
The following table lists the OPC relationship types that are required to extract content from an RDLX file.
|
Document |
OPC relationship type |
|---|---|
|
RDL |
http://schemas.microsoft.com/sqlserver/reporting/2011/01/reportpackage/relationships/reportdefinition |
|
Report State |
http://schemas.microsoft.com/sqlserver/reporting/2011/01/reportpackage/relationships/reportstate |
|
Extended Properties |
http://schemas.microsoft.com/sqlserver/reporting/2012/01/reportpackage/relationships/extendedproperties |
The RDL document can be extracted by using the top-level RDL relationship and can then be viewed in a text editor, in the same manner that other RDL documents are viewed.
The Report State document can be extracted by using the RDL-level Report State relationship and can then be viewed in a text editor. The state information in the Report State document makes references to an Entity Data Model (EDM) that has to be extracted from SQL Server Analysis Services by using the methodology that is described in Data Portability Methodology (section 2.2.3).
The Extended Properties document can be extracted by using the top-level Extended Properties relationship and can then be viewed in a text editor. The Extended Properties document supplies a set of metadata properties for RDLXReport. For instance, one of those metadata properties can be used to version RDLXReport. A versional RDLXReport allows a client application to programmatically determine if it can process RDLXReport or not.
The RDLX document is created by using a Reporting Services report authoring tool named Microsoft Power View or by using a third-party RDL authoring tool.